A Tale of Two Arcs
by Filthepil
Summary: Jaune gets split up from the rest of his team on a standard mission. As he is surrounded by Grimm, and about to be overrun, he re-discovers an old friend. One whom he did not wish to be reunited with.
1. A Mission or Something

**Filthepil here. New FanFiction for you all! Hope you all enjoy!**

 **Needless to say, I do not own RWBY, although I wish I do. That honor belongs to the late Monty Oum, for whom this story is dedicated.**

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Diving to the left, Jaune evaded the swipe of the Ursa. It was an enormous thing, easily eight feet tall, had it been standing on its hind legs. As it was, on all fours, the beast was still around shoulder level. It's head, and most of its back was completely covered with bony white plates, a stark contrast to the black skin. Getting up from his dive, Jaune glanced at the huge chunk of rock missing from the canyon wall. That would have taken out a hefty amount of his aura. Raising his sword, Jaune ran to its side, and swung with all his might. It sunk deep into the thick hide of the Ursa, and stuck fast. Roaring, the Grimm appeared to be surprised he had managed to hit it. Jerking, the Ursa ripped Jaune's sword from his hand, sending it flying. It stepped back a step, and swiped once more at him with its paw. Caught off guard, and unarmed, all he could do was raise his shield.

The swipe connected with the sturdy piece of metal, and Jaune's arm shuddered. Bracing his other arm against his shield, he desperately searched for an opening. Over and over the Ursa struck, and each time he blocked the hit, only losing a sliver of ground each time. Looking over the shoulder of the Grimm, he watched as another Ursa pounded across the rocky terrain, coming to the defense of the first. As the Ursa neared, he decided he had only one option, and threw himself backwards, right as the first Ursa swiped down. He fell with a dull thud onto the ground behind him. He heard a bellow, and quickly picked himself up off the ground. When he saw the scene before him though, he rejoiced to find the first Ursa had completely decapitated the second Ursa. Pumping a fist in the air, he cheered his good luck.

"From now on, you shall be known as Ursa slayer!" Pointing at the murderous Ursa, he mocked it as it poked at the decomposing corpse of its brethren. His victory was short lived however, and his smile faded from his face, as he looked at the dozens of Grimm that were waiting right outside the canyon. All types were represented. He saw a multitude of Beowulf, Ursa, and Boarbutusks just outside in the immediate vicinity. He was just lucky that they could only come through one or two at a time through the small opening in the canyon. They would send in a couple of their own, and wait for him to take those ones out, before sending in more. He'd taken out five Ursa, about a dozen Beowulf, and his aura was almost completely depleted. He wasn't sure how long he had before it ran out and he was overrun. Surely his teammates would find him before it came to that though. They wouldn't let him die would they?

 ** _'_** ** _...But…'_**

"...Hello?" Jaune called out hesitantly to the couple of Grimm in front of him. It had sounded as though there was someone outside the canyon. It was so quiet though. Maybe his friends had arrived, but were still far away?

His cautious question drew the attention of the Grimm, who appeared to have decided which one would take a hit at him next. He watched as the original Ursa, and two new Beowulf, one covered in bony plates, black flesh peeking through them, peeled off the mass of Grimm, and approached him.

Jaune reached down for the sword at his waist, only to find it was gone. The Beowulf began closing the distance between them with long four-legged strides. Hurling himself in a head-on sprint towards the sword, he hardly managed to get there before the Beowulf got to him. Picking up the sword, he eagerly backpedaled from the large creature hell bent on his destruction. The Beowulf kept advancing on him, albeit more cautiously than his fellows had been. Judging by the number of bone plates dotting its hide, this Grimm was the eldest of the ones that were currently attacking him, and the other Beowulf looked newborn. In the end, the age difference wouldn't matter if he didn't have any aura. Deciding a first strike policy was his best option at the moment, he stopped backpedaling, and after a moment's hesitation, charged the elder Beowulf. He caught it off guard, and managed to stick his sword straight into the beast's stomach before it batted him away with its claws, striking a thin strip of blood across his arm. Looking down at the blood slowly seeping through his shirt, he inwardly groaned, as he was out of aura, and running out of time to escape. The Beowulf collapsed on the ground, not quite dead, but nearing the point at which it would begin dissolving. The Ursa chose that moment to make its move. It rushed him like a bull, and he just barely managed to jump to the side in time. It stopped in record time for a beast of its size, and practically spun on its back paws, in order to face him again. He readied his sword and shield, pointing it at the Ursa, and the remaining Beowulf.

 ** _'_** ** _...I…'_**

Once again that strange voice. Looking around, he saw no one, but it sounded so familiar. Like someone he had just barely forgotten. It was clear by this point that there was no one there, but he couldn't figure out what was causing the voice for the life of him. He didn't have long to think on it however, as the Grimm outside, and the two inside the canyon began acting up. They began pushing each other, and sniffing the air, pacing back and forth. Looking at his arm, and then at the seething mass of darkness mere meters from where he was, he let out a small whine. Trying and failing to recall his Grimm studies, he wondered if Grimm could sense aura levels, or if they were simply scenting his blood. Either way, they sensed his weakness, and were preparing to make their move on it.

Drawing His scroll from his pocket in the brief pause, he hazarded a glance at his recent messages. Saddened by the fact that he had no new messages, he wondered if his teammates were suffering in the same manner. He desperately hoped they weren't. Their aura levels seemed to indicate they were doing fine. Nora's was still in the green, not surprising for the Valkyrie; Ren's was in the yellow, which was surprising, but it wasn't going down, which calmed him down. And of course Pyrrha's aura was completely full. He shouldn't have been surprised at that; she was a veritable powerhouse, but it still shocked him that someone could be so powerful. As for himself, looking at his name on the small screen, it didn't even have a sliver of red. He could tell he was already dead; he wouldn't be able to finish off all these Grimm without aura. Too bad they had gotten split up. They might have been able to defeat this many Grimm had they all been together. Looking around at the white bone masks of the Grimm he had killed, he determined that he would add at least another dozen to those piles before he left. He wasn't going to let himself die with anything less. Whispering a silent apology to his friends, and his family, he readied his sword and shield.

 ** _'_** ** _...don't…'_**

The Grimm roared in fury, almost as if in response to the voice, and began charging him. Ignoring Mr. WhisperEverythingISayButSoundVaguelyFamiliar for the time being, Jaune refocused on the Grimm. Their bloodlust seemed to make them even more mindless than they already were, and they trampled each other in their attempt to be the one to kill him. Swiping aside a claw from an Ursa with his shield, he brought his sword in a vertical arc straight onto the unprotected head of the youngest Beowulf.

It immediately killed the Beowulf, and with a sickening squelch, he pulled the sword from its head. He began retreating farther into the canyon, parrying strike after strike, getting in the occasional hit himself whenever possible. As he moved farther and farther backwards, the canyon began getting wider. The amount of Grimm able to rush him at a time would become larger until eventually he was overrun. It would be soon to from the looks of it. Looking over his shoulder the canyon was not very large either. Hardly twenty-five feet to the back of the canyon, the walls were only slightly less than vertical. Given enough time and patience, one could probably climb up it, but that was not a very good plan. Then again, what else was there to do, as he was backed into a canyon with only one way out. Looking back towards the Grimm, it was obvious he wasn't getting out of here that way.

 ** _'_** ** _...hate…'_**

A spark of recognition lit in his mind, and he let out a groan. Six years, and it was still to soon for this. He wasn't coming back was he? He had forced him out all those years ago in a fit of rage, and he hadn't regretted it once. He had caused nothing but misery for him, and he wasn't ready for him to come back; he wouldn't let him come back!

 ** _'_** ** _...you. Whoa. How'd we get here?'_**

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 ** _A/N: More chapters coming soon!_**


	2. A Semblance or Something

**Another chapter for you all. Enjoy!**

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 _'_ _No. No! Get out of my head!'_ Ducking under a swipe from a Beowulf, Jaune was forced back further. The Grimm were able to go ten abreast with how far he'd been pushed back into the canyon. Another ten or so feet, and they'd be able to completely surround him.

 ** _'_** ** _How'd we get here? Where are we? Why are there so many freakin Grimm?'_**

Jaune parried an attempt from an Ursa to smash him into the ground. Taking advantage of its temporary imbalance, Jaune threw his weight against his shield, and crashed into the Grimm, sending it toppling over, landing on its back. He wasn't able to push the advantage though, as two Beowulf and another Ursa replaced the first, plus the other Grimm pushing him towards the back of the canyon. The wall of the canyon was only about fifteen feet back, but he would be surrounded before then, as the Grimm would be able to come at him from more angles, as the canyon continued expanding outwards. Every foot backwards he took, took him further towards his doom.

 _'_ _None of that matters! I don't want you here. You bring nothing but misery to me. The only thing you need to know now, is that I need you need to leave.'_ Another swipe, another parry, and he was back another two feet. He was quickly running out of time, luck, and space. Glancing behind him, he weighed his options carefully. Continue fighting, and be pushed back until the Grimm completely surround him, or race backwards now, and plant himself against the wall. Fighting Grimm on three sides was better than fighting on four, even if not by much. Deciding the best course of action, he turned around, and sprinted the last few feet towards the back wall of the canyon. At the last second before he turned around, he managed to make out a small ledge. Not much to look at, but maybe enough. Sheathing his sword, he jumped at it, and grabbed the first handholds he could find. Pulling himself up as fast as he could, he managed to make it onto the ledge, barely a foot wide, but enough to stand on. He looked down at the horde, milling about beneath him. Just barely out of reach, an Ursa standing on its hind legs would only be about two feet beneath him. Taking his sheathed sword, he placed it on his hip, swinging down to knee level.

 ** _'_** ** _Really? Because it looks like you pretty desperately need me. I'm not going to let you kill us like this. Let me take over!'_** With that Jaune felt a pounding behind his eyes, instantaneously giving him a migraine. Staggering, Jaune pushed a hand against his forehead, in a mad attempt to ease the ache gathering there. Hardly remaining stuck to the wall; he looked for a better area to climb to. Hearing a screech from behind him, Jaune looked over his shoulder at the unexpected attacker. Behind the masses of Beowulf and Ursa, behind the slower Goliath and Death Stalkers, came the Nevermores. Dozens of them were heading his way, and it was clear where his death would come from. With a small grimace, Jaune redoubled his efforts to climb up farther.

 ** _'_** ** _You have no more time! This is the end unless you let go; Let me in! You're going to kill us both, don't be a fool!'_** Choosing to ignore that statement for the time being, he dug his scroll out from his pocket, and checked the screen. His team's aura hadn't changed at all, but he still had zero new messages. Fairly worrying, but not as worrying as his current situation.

 _'_ _I'll never let you take control again. You ruined me. Everything I had was taken away from me. You are the epitome of evil, and you're no better than the Grimm standing below me. The day I let you take back control, is the day I die.'_ Looking at the Grimm surmounting against him, and the Nevermores fast approaching, Jaune amended _'Not even the day I die.'_ Grasping a new couple of handholds he had noticed, Jaune pulled himself up, placing his feet where his hands had been. It got him another four feet or so over the Grimm, but it wouldn't matter unless he could get over the top, and away from the Nevermores.

 ** _'_** ** _I don't care what you want anymore. This is more than just your life you're throwing away here Jaune. I'm not willing to allow myself to die here. Give me control, and I'll save the both of us Jaune. Neither of us has to die!'_**

 _'_ _I refuse! Every time you take control bad things happen! Not this time. I'm going to get out of this situation myself.'_ Looking up, he estimated the top of the cliff was about thirty feet up. Grabbing new handholds, with aching arms, he pulled himself up once more. Gaining another four feet, he was making headway on the cliff. The Grimm at the bottom were getting increasingly furious, slamming back and forth in rage. A Beowulf jumped, and latched onto the rock with massive claws. It quickly fell, unable to hold on, but it gave the rest of the Grimm the same idea. Suddenly all the Grimm that could jump were doing so, uncaring of Grimm that they knocked out of the way in the process, or crushed as they fell back to the ground.

The pain behind his eyes returned tenfold. **_'I just want to help you Jaune! That's all I've ever done! That's all I've ever wanted to do! And I'm sorry if that isn't what you want right now, but it's what's gonna happen.'_** Jaune's vision began to fade, and he shook his head, sending searing pain shooting into his head, but clearing his vision. He grabbed the next handholds he could find, and slowly pulled himself up; His arms having grown weak with his lack of aura, and the pain in his head. **_'Just let me help you Jaune! Give me control, and we'll never have to run again! Please Jaune. Just let go.'_**

Jaune paused in his climbing. _'Never.'_ Panting in his break, he checked his progress. He was nearing the halfway point of the cliff; his hands and arms scraped and bleeding badly. Resuming his climb, he grasped handhold after handhold, refusing to slow down.

 ** _'_** ** _Jaune!'_** The voice roared at him. **_'I didn't ask for this! I didn't ask to be a passenger in your body! But can't you at least let me help you? It gives me a purpose. I would never purposely hurt you!'_**

 _'_ _You know I might almost believe that if it weren't for the massive migraine you're giving me right now. You know, the one that's nearly knocking me from the very wall keeping us alive?'_ Hitting halfway up the cliff side, Jaune paused to take a breath. The Nevermore were practically right on top of him at this point. It was clear he wasn't going to make it. He was only halfway. And the Nevermore were FAR more than halfway to him. It was looking like it was the end for him. His teammates were probably worrying themselves sick about him. That brought a small smile to his face. Against all odds, he had made the best friends of his life in this school. They had accepted him, even when it had been made clear that he wasn't the best fighter, or leader on Remnant. And his team knew he had family too. They would make sure they were informed of his death.

 ** _'_** ** _I am sorry about this Jaune. But I'm not going back to the darkness.'_** The migraine he had earlier paled in comparison to the splitting pain he now felt. His arms and legs turned to jelly, his grip on the canyon wall failed him, and he fell backwards, facing straight up. The sky, which had been a perfect blue, faded into the same midnight black as the horde's fur. He was out before he hit the ground.

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 **A/N:**

 **Y'all aren't actually supposed to know who the voice is yet, other than his name now. Its all part of my story. It'll be explained.**


	3. An Awkward Talk or Something

**A/N: Sorry it took so long for another chapter. I'm not a professional author, and i'm rather new at writing, so updates will be periodic at best. Anyways, on to the chapter!**

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Light. That was the first thing Jaune noticed. Jaune immediately covered his eyes with his hands in front of the blindingly painful light. Peeking through his fingers in front of his face, squinting hard, he could just make out a blur of brown and black. Suddenly all of the senses he had been unaware he was missing returned to him. His balance returned, and he realized he was standing up, which was only slightly disorientating. His sense of smell returned next, a mixture of blood, and dissipating Grimm. His hearing returned soon after his smell. Screeches sounding from all around him, and roaring from Grimm that sounded nothing short of agonized. As his vision began going back to normal, he took his hands away from his eyes, wincing at the sudden pain. He was facing a rock wall, presumably the canyon wall, and there was a Grimm directly in front of him. A young Beowulf, newborn, judging from the lack of bone plates, with several gashes in its hide, was cowering in front of him. The way it pushed itself into the rock wall, it looked as though the beast wanted to be part of it. Almost feeling sorry for it, he stepped forward, and mercifully sliced its head clean off.

Turning around, he took in the horrifying sight before him. More Grimm bodies than he could ever count, in varying states of decay lay all around him. Some missing heads, or various limbs, others dying from numerous stab wounds across their bodies. The bone masks from the older Grimm, taking longer than their bodies to decay, covered the ground around him. Impossible to count, but easily over a thousand. It was thick enough to walk on without ever touching the ground. The Grimm that remained were beating a hasty retreat, scrambling over each other in a desperate attempt to leave the canyon. It was made all the more difficult for them, as only two or three Grimm could exit the canyon at one time. The air was thick with the smoke from dead bodies. It was all he could do to not gag. As the last of the Grimm filtered out of the canyon, and the last Nevermore flew out, he picked up his scroll. Flicking on the screen, he was surprised to see his teammates' aura. Each one of theirs was at full aura, as was his. Checking the time, his jaw dropped. It had been four hours since he was standing on that ledge, believing his time had come. His scroll also sported two hundred new messages, and over twenty missed calls. Clicking on the icon, and quickly scrolling through them all, it was clear they were all from his team. They were all along the general lines of "Jaune we're all so worried please respond." from Pyrrha, "Hey Jauneyboy make sure to check in next time! Don't make us come looking for you!" from Nora, and "Hey." from Ren.

 ** _'_** ** _Whew that was a fun time.'_** Making a sound halfway between a sigh and a moan, it sounded like he had just woken up from a nap. **_'You're welcome Jaune, but did you have to stop my fun so soon? I only got to kill a few Grimm. Thanks for letting me back in power though!'_** And that was the last sense he had returned to him. The small voice was back in his mind. Not a sense he was particularly enthused to have returned. Felt like a hunk of his brain wasn't there anymore, but it was; it just wasn't his brain anymore. That section of his mind was Zihcs'. His semblance. Clicking on the create new message icon, he typed in all of his team in the search box. A quick group message would be more than enough to satisfy them. **_'Are you seriously ignoring me? I just saved both our hides. YOU'RE WELCOME.'_** They would want to know where he had gone, and if he was okay obviously. He couldn't tell them what had just happened, but he could tell them he was okay. Realizing with a start that he actually was okay, he looked down at his body. Not a single bit of blood was on him anywhere, other than the small amount of blood on his shirt from the cut on his arm, he was completely unbloodied, and unharmed. Not even the cut on his arm was there anymore. Lucky him. Typing out his message to his friends, he began "I'm fine, I just took a small tumble down a canyon. It hurt, but my aura protected me. It did knock me out though. Sorry :( I'll be back to the meeting point in about 20 minutes." **_'Did you notice you're unharmed? That was me. You're welcome. Made sure to be careful with your body. It was no problem really. Your aura is even back to the top. You should be thanking me by the way.'_**

' _Thank you is the very last thing I want to do.'_ Practically growling mentally, Jaune unleashed his full anger on Zihcs. _'I hate everything about you, and I would have rather died here than allow you to take over my body! The fact that you did take my body makes me disgusted to be in it myself. Getting rid of you those six years ago was the best choice I ever made, I never regretted it, and I should do the same now!'_ With the last statement, he could physically feel Zihcs get anxious.

 ** _'_** ** _There's no reason to do that Jaune.'_** Jaune could almost feel the imaginary hands Zihcs was holding out in a placating manner. **_'I'm just here to help you. I can help you kill! Or whatever you need.'_** Jaune wasn't going to be swayed though. He reached into his mind, the part that he could no longer feel, the area that had been taken by Zihcs. He pushed on it with all his might, and he began to feel it give way once more, just like all those years ago. **_'Jaune no don't do this again. I've lost six years of your life Jaune, and I didn't even realize it! I don't want that to happen again. I refuse. I wont allow it!'_** And suddenly the area pushed back against his will. It returned in full force to the area it occupied, and no matter how hard he pushed against it this time, he couldn't budge it. **_'Huh, how about that? I guess I'm too powerful for you to push out this time.'_** With that, Jaune's scroll began to ring. Pyrrha was calling. Glancing once around himself at the carnage, he pushed the accept call button.

"Jaune? Jaune? Where have you been!? Are you hurt? You haven't been responding to any of our texts, or calls. We've been so worried!" Pyrrha's voice sounded out of the scroll, far louder than he would have preferred, still sporting a slight headache.

"I'm sorry Pyrrha, I took a fall down a canyon, and got knocked out. My aura protected me, but I still lost a few hours." Although it wasn't entirely the truth, it still had a grain of truth in it. After all, he had technically fallen down a canyon, and lost a couple hours. There was just more to the story than that. "How are you guys? Did anyone get hurt?" The mission that they had been on had gone south very fast, with more Grimm pouring in than any of them knew how to deal with, and wound up splitting them apart.

"We're fine Jaune, but I personally saw your aura fall to nothing! That wasn't a tumble down a canyon Jaune. What happened?" Pyrrha's voice took on a frantic tone near the end, almost falling into hysterics. "For at least ten minutes your aura was non-existent! We thought the worse, until we saw it begin to rise back up!"

 _Ouch forgot about that part._ "It was a large canyon?" Even to Jaune the excuse sounded weak. "Okay I found a couple Grimm, and they proved to be difficult to kill. It was nothing, and I managed to kill them in the end. I'm fine Pyrrha, okay?" **_'Ooh yeah that'll convince her. Better option, kill her. No awkward conversations that way. And zero percent chance for them to find out about me. Although I do suppose this is Karma for trying to get rid of me again.'_** Continuing to ignore Zihcs, Jaune continued before Pyrrha could say something damning to him. "I'm coming back to the meeting point, ill be there in about twenty minutes." Pressing the end call button, Jaune looked around himself, at the bodies. Today truly was a mess.

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 **A/N: As always, reviews are much appreciated! Hope I answered some questions in this chapter.**


	4. A Backstory or Something

**A/N: Little bit different of a chapter here. This and the next chapter will be mostly for backstory into Jaune's history. As such its broken up into a bunch of different smaller stories going forwards into Jaune's history until it hits the current point.**

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Taking her precious newborn baby from the arms of the doctor, Juniper Arc couldn't help the tears that began to fall from her eyes. After seven children, you would think that she would be less teary at their birth, but each was as special as the ones that had come before. As she looked into his beautiful blue eyes, she decided on a name then and there. Looking at her husband, "Jaune. Jaune Arc will be his name." All Nickolas Arc could do was nod along happily at the baby boy in his wife's arms. The baby was laughing aloud for the entire world to see, like an angel fallen from heaven. Nickolas wrapped an arm around his wife's shoulder.

Suddenly the young Jaune Arc began to cry in his mother's arms. She rushed to rock him back and forth in her arms, babbling happy little nonsense, hoping to bring back the gentle laughter of the baby, but no matter what she did he would not be consoled. Nearly thirty seconds passed by, with the baby crying as though all the world was ending before him, when as suddenly as it had started, the crying stopped. Replaced once more by laughter, Jaune Arc appeared for all intents and purposes as though he had never cried in his short life. And then suddenly there were tears once more. Then laughter. Then tears. Juniper and Nickolas Arc looked on in confused worry at the child who would switch between cherubic laughter, and fist balling tears as fast as he could scrunch his face up. Nickolas Arc looked at the doctor, and even he seemed perturbed by the strange actions of the baby.

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Jaune Arc looked around. Giant creatures were all around him. The one carrying him had its face close to his. Unbidden, his chest began to heave up and down, as little gobs of laughter floated from his face, quite startling himself. But these creatures that walked around him, making loud noises at him were just so funny. They all made soft noises when they looked at him, and poked at him softly with large fingers, tickling under his chin, and his stomach. Unable and uncaring to stop himself, he continued to laugh in general at the world.

All of a sudden, another noise assaulted his ears. It was not soft like the other creatures he was surrounded by. It was a harsh screeching noise that came from everywhere all at once. He twisted around and around looking for the source of the noise, but couldn't find it. His chest began to heave again, but this time laughter did not come from his mouth, but screaming. Tears began to stream from his eyes at this foreign noise that scared him so much. The noise began to change, taking on the quality of his own voice, eventually morphing to match the sound of his own crying. Then suddenly the noise ceased, and he was left listening to only the sounds of the sweet cooing of the creature holding him. Once more he began to laugh at the sweet sounds, and the funny creatures. Then the strange noise returned. This time it was louder. It mocked his crying as though it had its own personal vendetta against young Jaune Arc. And once more he cried along with the voice, as he had before, unable to stop the chest wracking sobs that choked him as the voice screamed and wailed in his head, disconnected from the outside world. Over and over the voice left and then returned, leaving Jaune alone, ready to be happy again, only to return within his own mind. Unable to escape the voice, Jaune continued to switch between tears and laughter.

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Jaune Arc crawled along the ground in front of his loving mother and father, Juniper and Nickolas Arc. The two watched as he explored the environment around him for the first time. He had just begun crawling that morning, and they were content to let him exhaust himself crawling around the small house. It would keep him from crying at night, and forcing one of them to go and rock him asleep. Love him as they might, he was the highest maintenance child they had to date. And that was saying something coming from a couple with eight children. Jaune slowly crawled around the small house that they had managed to baby proof perfectly with over twelve years of training between their seven other kids. All of a sudden, Jaune sat down hard on the ground, and began to bawl his eyes out again. Juniper rushed over to Jaune, picked him up, and began bouncing him up and down on her hip, humming softly in his ear to cheer him up. Jaune acted as though he couldn't even hear her humming in his ear for a good five minutes, before finally he cheered up, without any in between state for his grief. As he giggled on her hip, reaching up to touch her face with his hands, she smiled sadly at him. She couldn't figure out what was happening to him for the life of her. He would just randomly begin bawling for no apparent reason, and be inconsolable for minutes, before just as suddenly as it started, be happy again. No in-between, no reason, just tears, and then joy. It honestly worried her greatly. Juniper walked back to her husband, and handed him the small child. She picked up the phone and made a much-needed call.

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Jaune Arc smiled up at his fathers face so close to his own. He smelled of leather, and metal. He reached his hands up to Nickolas' face, touching the stubble on his chin, and giggling at the strange sensation of the scratchy beard. The voice in his head had been particularly mean this time, screaming at him harshly, but eventually it had gone away, and he found himself in his mother's arms, before she gave him to his father. The voice was just as scary, but it no longer mocked him. It would make its own noises now. Sometimes it would cry at random times, or scream at him inside of his head, but it never laughed, or made the sounds his mother made when she held him. It scared him, but he always put it out of his mind when his mother or father were near. Tired, he rested his head against his father's chest. It was soft and warm, and he liked it. Before long he had drifted into slumber.

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Jaune Arc was sitting safely cradled in Juniper Arc's arms, looking around him. Juniper walked towards one of the counters in the office. "I have an appointment with Doctor Sterling." The nurse typed on a keyboard a few times, before asking her name. "Juniper Arc." The nurse gestured her towards some chairs at the end of the room, and told her the doctor would be right with her. Holding the squirming baby in her arms, she rocked him back and forth, trying to get him to go to sleep. Without finding much luck, she began humming a small tune in his ears, which proved effective. He fell asleep in her arms, breathing softly. After a few minutes, the doctor came into the reception area, and asked for Juniper to follow her. She followed the doctor into the room at the end of the hallway.

"Good morning Mrs. Arc. How are you?" The Doctor was a woman, looking to be nearing her middle ages, although looking great for it. Juniper took a moment to sit down on one of the chairs in the small office before replying softly, thanks to the small child tucked in her arms.

"I'm doing fine thank you, but this visit is for my child, not me." Gesturing to Jaune, who was sleeping in her arms, she gently moved him into a better position as the doctor came to look at him. "I'm worried about him; He will switch moods at the most random of times. I've seen him go from perfectly happy, to bawling his eyes out, as if he were in actual pain, without the slightest indication of what might be causing it. I was wondering if you could check him out to see if there's anything physical causing it. I've had seven other children, and I've never seen anything like this."

"Of course I'll take a look at him Mrs. Arc." Standing up, the doctor gestured to Juniper to come with her.

* * *

Jaune Arc sat cradled in his mother's arms, as he looked around the strange place that was so unlike his house. This place had harsh white walls that hurt his eyes, and strangely clothed people that rushed around in a hurry. One of the people came close to him, and made cooing noises while wiggling a finger in front of his face. He quickly grabbed it, and began giggling uncontrollably. Unfortunately that person, just like everyone else, rushed away after a few seconds. He quickly calmed down, with a small frown for the person who left. But the frown didn't last long. Soon enough another one of the large people, clothed in white cloth came close to him. She pushed on his stomach, checked his legs, even opening his mouth and putting a hand clothed in rubber in it. It tasted bad, but it was all right because she gave him a lollipop afterwards. As he sucked on the small ball of sugar, he looked at his mother, who held him still in her lap, and smiled back when she smiled at him.

He wound up being in the strange white place far longer than he would have liked, being put into various machines and poked and prodded. But eventually he was taken back to his home, with all the familiar people and things he had come to expect. Mainly what he had been missing was his crib, which he was soon put into, and fell fast asleep.

* * *

Jaune was down for a nap, and the rest of the kids at school when Juniper got the call several days later from doctor Sterling. Grabbing her scroll, she quickly gestured for her husband to be quiet. Clicking accept as she walked into another room, she answered. "Juniper Arc speaking. Is this doctor Sterling?" Merely a habit at this point, as the scroll always displayed who called.

"Yes it is Mrs. Arc. I have the results of the tests from your child."

Anxiously Juniper prompted the question, "Would you like me to come in to discuss the results doctor?"

"No that won't be necessary. I have no problem telling you right now. Your child is perfectly fine. He has nothing wrong with him physically. He's the image of perfect health."

"That's excellent! Thank you doctor!" Unable to contain her excitement, Juniper hung up on the poor doctor in her haste to tell her husband.

* * *

 **A/N: Part two of Jaune's backstory will be posted soon. As always, reviews are much appreciated!**


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